Short-term changes of choroidal vascular structures after phacoemulsification surgery

Abstract

BackgroundTo evaluate the changes of choroidal vascular structures in patients after phacoemulsification surgery.MethodsA self-control study was conducted on 36 eyes of 36 patients who had uneventful phacoemulsification. Choroidal images were acquired preoperatively, 7 days (D7), 1 month (M1), and 3 months (M3) after surgery from enhanced depth imaging (EDI) optical coherence tomography (OCT) scans. Choroidal vascularity index (CVI) was used to assess vascular status of the choroid using image binarization by the Niblack method. The postoperative values of mean CVI were compared with baseline by paired t-test. Univariate and multiple linear regression analyses were performed to determine the associations between CVI and other factors.ResultsThe mean age of the recruited patients was 63.1 ± 6.9 years. The mean CVI at baseline was 60.1 ± 5.5%. After surgery, the CVI significantly increased to 61.7 ± 5.3% at D7, 63.6 ± 4.4% at M1 and 64.8 ± 4.0% at M3 (p = 0.035, 0.0006, < 0.0001, respectively). Univariate and multiple regression analysis revealed a positive association between CVI and subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT) at pre-operation and no significant association with age, axial length (AL), intraocular pressure (IOP) and gender at all timepoints.ConclusionsPhacoemulsification induced increased CVI in patients diagnosed with cataract. Evaluation of the long-term change of CVI following surgery may provide valuable information for studying the relationship between phacoemulsification and disorders of the choroid.

Macular perfusion analysed by optical coherence tomography angiography after uncomplicated phacoemulsification: benefits beyond restoring vision

“…Further, significant decrease of TNEP and ML in CC (Additional file 1: Table S5) could result from increased demand in heat dissipation through opening of anastomoses corroborating with published studies [2,16,26]. Some authors hypothesized increase in subfoveal thickness to be a consequence of local choroidal inflammatory response but found no reasoning for these changes, while correlation to CDE was not reported [18,25,27].…”

Macular Perfusion Analysed by Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography after Uncomplicated Phacoemulsification: Benefits beyond Restoring Vision

“…Further, signi cant decrease of TNEP and ML in CC (Additional le 1: Table S5) could result from increased demand in heat dissipation through opening of anastomoses corroborating with published studies [2,16,26]. Some authors hypothesized increase in subfoveal thickness to be a consequence of local choroidal in ammatory response but found no reasoning for these changes, while correlation to CDE was not reported [18,25,27].…”

Choroidal Vascularity Index: An In-Depth Analysis of This Novel Optical Coherence Tomography Parameter

“…A significant increase of CVI after phacoemulsification was found, especially in the luminal vascular component [81,83]. The increased CVI may be associated with the choroidal inflammation induced by surgical trauma or with the intraocular pressure drop after cataract surgery [81,83].…”

“…Few reports used the CVI to analyze choroidal changes after cataract and macular surgery, and none of them has identified the CVI as an effective biomarker to predict postoperative functional or anatomical results [80][81][82]. The identification of reliable prognostic biomarkers is critical to improve the ability of clinicians to predict postoperative outcomes, especially in macular surgery [80].…”